File corruption can occur when a communications interface is abruptly disconnected. For example, file corruption can occur when a disrupted file transfer results in incomplete data on a device.
As used herein, the term file system data refers to any data that represents information about a file system. For example, file system data can include one or more pointers to other data in a file system (e.g., a file allocation table). In some systems, file system data can include directory information such as data representing a directory's contents (e.g., a directory table).
When file system data is corrupted, all or a portion of the files in the file system may become inaccessible. For example, corrupted file system data may include pointers that don't accurately indicate the location of file data. Accordingly, file corruption can be even more problematic when file system data, as opposed to actual file data, is corrupted.
Some traditional communications systems attempt to minimize file corruption by repeatedly transmitting file system data during communications. However, such systems still experience significant file corruption if the communications interface is disrupted when transmitting file system data. In such a scenario, the file system data won't match the actual file data, and all or a portion of the files in the file system may be inaccessible.